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“To be perfectly frank, I don’t pay much attention to life up there.” She tilted her head back as she spoke. “I’m only interested in what happens down here.”
“It could impact your business if your customers don’t feel safe to travel here.”
Her eyes sharpened. “Well, that I do care about. When do we expect them to ride into town?”
“Within the next couple days. We’ve been gathering intel on their movements. The leader is called Vortigern.”
“Perhaps we can entice this Vortigern and his hunters to enjoy some of our goods and services instead of trampling our forest.” Her tone was too oily, too slick, for my liking. If she weren’t a troll running an illegal speakeasy underground, she might sell timeshares. Gun was right to warn me about her; as diminutive as she appeared, there was a hardness to her. I had no doubt it was her idea to light weapons on fire before hurling them at living targets.
“If I were you, I’d keep this place a secret from them. Vortigern doesn’t leave places in the condition he finds them.”
The light faded from her eyes. “I see. Well, we can’t have that, can we?”
“Just out of curiosity, how many customers do you receive in a day?”
“More than you’d guess.”
“Humans?”
She scoffed. “Good gods, no. We don’t allow humans. They spoil everything.”
My next question spilled from my lips before I could stop it. “Have you ever met Kane Sullivan, the owner of the other playground?”
Her mouth cracked open. “Naturally.”
An image of the alluring Cynthia surfaced. “In his establishment or yours?”
“When his head of security discovered our existence, Mr. Sullivan paid us a visit. He wanted to confirm that we intended no harm to the residents of Fairhaven.”
That sounded like Kane. “And has he been back since?”
Her smile turned demure. “Many times.”
“He has his own bar. Why would he come to yours?”
She waved a hand. “As you can see, we cater to a slightly different clientele. I suspect he enjoys the variety. A demon like Sullivan has eclectic taste.”
Did I count as eclectic? Possibly.
I still didn’t understand why the Tower card sent me here. I’d given information about the hunt yet hadn’t received any. Was that the purpose—to warn Madame Thea? In that case, why not show the speakeasy to Gun, who had a connection to it already?
I was missing something.
I groped for more information. “Do you keep a list of which customers prefer which rooms?”
“Sure do. Why?”
Her power and influence were becoming clearer by the second. A list of clients and their vices. Madame Thea was the kind of woman who’d have politicians quaking in their boots, assuming there were any supernaturals among them.
“Your customers who like to throw axes,” I began. “Would you be willing to share that list with me?”
“Absolutely not. That NDA works both ways. My business thrives on discretion.”
“What if I asked you to speak to them on my behalf?”
Her eyes narrowed to slits. “You want to request their assistance against the Wild Hunt?”
An idea began to take shape. “The hunters aren’t accustomed to being challenged. They ride into an area, do what they want, and leave. It’s possible if they barrel through the crossroads and see a small army of fighters, they’ll decide it isn’t worth it.”
